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This Make-a-Mega we’ve switched things up a bit and are bringing you not one but three different Mega Evolutions! Why? Because the most recent of the PokéCommunity’s selections is Castform and we’ve decided to create a separate Mega Evolution for each of its weather-based forms. We’ve already looked at our Sunny and Rainy Mega Castforms and now it’s time to take a look at Hail Mega Castform. First however, let’s see why we need this Mega so badly.

Unsurprisingly, Castform retains its completely even stat spread in its Hail Form. The change comes in its typing shifts from the Normal type to the Ice type. This means that in this form, Castform has all the strengths and weaknesses we have come to associate with the Ice type.

The Ice type is regarded as one of the best offensive types in the Pokémon franchise by many and this is not without good reason. Ice attacks hit four types super-effectively: Dragon, Flying, Grass and Ground. There are types that have more super-effective coverage than Ice, however the Ice type not only specifically hits very common types in the metagame but also has a tendency to deal enormous damage due to the large number of Pokémon with a double weakness to it (Landorus, Dragonite and Gliscor to name a few).

In addition to this, Castform has a plethora of extremely dangerous coverage moves such as Scald, Thunderbolt and Flamethrower. These hit all of Castform’s weaknesses super-effectively and allow Castform to deal super-effective damage to TEN out of the eighteen types whilst dealing neutral damage to the other eight. This is an incredible feat for a Pokémon but, unfortunately, Castform’s mediocre stats do not allow it to live up to this extensive coverage.

It only gets worse from there when we start looking at Hail Castform’s defenses. For each of the four types that the Ice type is super-effective against, there is one that hits Castform just as hard: Fire, Fighting, Rock and Steel. Worse still, as an Ice type, Castform only resists Ice. This means that of the remaining thirteen types, ALL of them hit Castform neutrally and with its dreadful stats Castform just can’t take those hits. The only positive Hail Castform has defensively is that it is immune to both Hail damage and being Frozen by virtue of its typing.

Each of Castform’s forms is in dire need of help and despite great offensive typing and demonic coverage, Hail Castform’s horrendous defensive properties combined with its terrible stats might result in it being the worst of the three. So, how can we help this unfortunate Pokémon?

New and Improved

One look at this new stat spread makes it very clear how our Mega Castform is meant to function. Before talking about its stats though, it’s worth noticing that this Mega has a new ability in Snow Warning. Summoning a hailstorm every time it switches in, Mega Castform is able to power up Blizzard’s accuracy and ability to break Protect/Detect; deal continuous damage each turn to finish off any foes still hanging on after its attacks and also limits recovery by halving the effectiveness of Moonlight, Morning Sun and Synthesis. Arguably this is less helpful than Sun or Rain users but still proves an asset to Mega Castform.

Now we move onto the big guns: Mega Castform’s now fearsome offensive stats. With a massive base one hundred and fifty Special Attack, this Mega Castform is able to inflict some insanely high amounts of damage – especially given the number of Pokémon with a double weakness to Ice. When you add on Mega Castform’s expansive coverage, few Pokémon will be able to take a hit from this Mega Evolution along with Hail pelting them each turn. What’s more, Mega Castform is much faster than its predecessor with a base one hundred and ten Speed that puts it in the same tier as Latios and Mega Diancie.

Despite this terrifying offensive presence however, Hail Mega Castform does suffer from some notable weaknesses. First and foremost, whilst still immune to hail damage and freezing and also receiving a slight boost to its defenses, this Mega Castform is still pitifully fragile and will not be able to take many hits at all. This means it will also have a very hard time switching in during battle, especially when factoring in a lack of any recovery and the constant threat of super-effective Stealth Rock damage. Hail Mega Castform is also much harder to construct a team around than other Megas on account of the rarity of Pokémon that benefit from Hail and the fragility of those that do.

Hail Mega Castform is an enormously powerful offensive Pokémon with a great design. With its stats, coverage and looks it’s everything you could want from an offensive Pokémon. Unfortunately though, it’s limited by its own fragility and the metagame’s lack of support for Hail-based Pokémon and the Ice type in general.

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